Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Moore Inventor Fellows
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Limited $675K funding opportunity—only TWO applicants are permitted therefore a university-wide internal selection process is required. Eligibility: for faculty with PI eligibility (UTL, MCL, and NTL-Research appts.) and Clinician Educator (CE) faculty (with an approved CE faculty PI waiver). Applicants must be within 10 years of receiving their terminal degree in their field (Ph.D. or M.D.) (anytime in 2008 is OK per the sponsor's FAQs.]
The internal selection process for 2018 has been completed. This is for your reference only.
They seek ideas grounded in science, environmental conservatism and patient experience and care (see eligibility for clarification re: patient care) (see eligibility for clarification re: patient care). "We recognize inventors and innovators come from a diversity of backgrounds, disciplines and experiences and will look for creativity across a broad array of academic programs and research departments. Examples of such programs include, but are not limited to, environmental science and conservation, oceanography, biology, engineering, physics, chemistry, materials science, neuroscience, public health and gerontology.
Please see the Stanford eligibility clarification section below because it differs from the sponsor's guidelines. Additional clarification from the sponsor's FAQs has been added to the "amount of funding", eligibility and "internal submission guidelines".
# of applicants: 2 (see internal submission guidelines below)
Timeline:
Internal deadline for each school: Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018, 5 p.m. (see internal submission guidelines below)
Each school will submit their top 3 proposals to Dean of Research office by: Jan. 18, 2018
Applicants notified regarding their selection: Jan. 25, 2018
Institutional online nomination submission deadline: Feb. 12, 2018
The two nominees selected will submit their nomination/application packets to the sponsor: March 5, 2018, 5 p.m. PT
Week of May 14, 2018 Finalists selected; May 30, 2018 Finalist presentations due; June 12, 2018 Finalist in-person presentations
Week of June 18, 2018 Decision made; institutions notified; Fall 2018 Fellows announced
SCHOOL CONTACTS
See the contacts for your respective schools under the internal submission guidelines below.
Guidelines
Please read the Stanford eligibility clarification section below because it differs from the sponsor's guidelines.
Download PDF file of the guidelines
Download a PDF file of the FAQs >>
2016 recipients >>
2017 recipients (including one from Stanford) >>
Purpose:
We aim to support inventions at an early stage that could lead to proof-of-concept work on an invention or advance an existing prototype that tackles an important problem. We seek innovations with the promise of making a long-lasting impact by addressing underlying problems in their field, but a clear path toward commercialization is not a requirement. We are not interested in supporting projects that are already at a stage where significant venture capital is available. As with all our grants, we seek to measure progress toward a defined goal during the three years of support. The foundation’s policy is that intellectual property that results from a grant must be managed and disseminated in a manner that leads to the greatest impact. Each award will include IP terms to reflect the needs of that project.
We recognize that real invention can take surprising turns, so we seek creative individuals who have big ideas, deep knowledge and the courage to take smart risks. We recognize that inventors and innovators come from a diversity of backgrounds, disciplines and experiences, and seek creative individuals across a broad array of academic programs and research departments. Examples of such programs include, but are not limited to environmental science and conservation, oceanography, biology, engineering, physics, chemistry, materials science, neuroscience, public health and gerontology.
Amount of funding:
$200,000 per year for 3 years. The foundation will provide the host institution with $25,000* each year to cover costs associated with administering the grant award, resulting in a total 3-year award of $675,000.
*Clarification from the sponsor: ""The entirety of this $25,000 per year can go towards indirect costs.”
- NOTE: Host institutions* are required to make a contribution of $50,000 in annual direct support of the inventor’s work..
- *Stanford clarification: per Dr. Ann Arvin, Vice Provost and Dean of Researc, under the internal submission guidelines below, your Department Chair's nomination letter (see internal submission guidelines) must provide a commitment by the department that it will meet the requirement “to make a contribution of $50,000 in annual direct support of the inventor’s work”)
- Per the Sponsor's FAQs:
Q.Can you please clarify what costs are permissible as part of the institution’s $50,000 annual contribution?
A. Each host institution will be required to contribute $50,000 in annual direct support of the inventor’s work. This includes support for undergraduate or graduate students, equipment, supplies and other needs that will enable the fellows to focus on their inventions. Direct support in the form of salary is acceptable; however, the direct support requirement cannot be met without a proportionate release of time that the inventor spends on other duties (e.g., teaching). Clarification of the nature of institutional support will be required in nomination materials.
- Each nomination must be for a single individual. Per the FAQs:
- Q. We are a team of two or more eligible faculty/staff. Can we apply as a group or must nominations be for an individual?
A. Each nomination must be for a single individual who can be considered the project lead. However, we understand that many projects are made possible through collaboration, and allow grant funds to be used toward collaboration in service of the project
- Q. We are a team of two or more eligible faculty/staff. Can we apply as a group or must nominations be for an individual?
- **Stanford eligibility clarification: per Stanford PIship policy, because this is a research grant, only Stanford faculty with PI eligibility (those with UTL, MCL, or NTL-Research faculty appointments) and Clinician Educator (CE) faculty (with an approved CE faculty PI waiver). [CE faculty must submit their CE faculty PI waiver requests>> to their RPMs by Dec. 21, 2017. Please include a copy of your approved CE faculty PI waiver request with your internal proposal packet. RPM dept. assignment webpage >>.]
- Dr. Ann Arvin, the Vice Provost and Dean of Research, has confirmed that although the sponsor’s guidelines state applicants "can be faculty, research scientists, postdocs or other full-time staff", the following positions are NOT eligible:
- Not eligible: Stanford Instructors, Postdoctoral fellows, Clinical Instructors, and Academic staff-research (i.e., research associates, senior scientists) are not able to request a Career Development PI Waiver in order to be a PI for this program because the RFP does meet the criteria for that waiver (it does not clearly state that this is a mentored career development award, nor does the application require a statement from the mentor).
- Not eligible: Stanford affiliates are also not eligible for this RFP.
- Not eligible: Stanford Instructors, Postdoctoral fellows, Clinical Instructors, and Academic staff-research (i.e., research associates, senior scientists) are not able to request a Career Development PI Waiver in order to be a PI for this program because the RFP does meet the criteria for that waiver (it does not clearly state that this is a mentored career development award, nor does the application require a statement from the mentor).
- Applicants must be within 10 years of receiving their terminal degree in their field (Ph.D. or M.D.). Per clarification from the sponsor’s FAQs: "There is no specific cutoff date; a degree received anytime within 2008 is acceptable."
- They seek ideas grounded in science, environmental conservatism and patient experience and care. Per the FAQs: "We recognize inventors and innovators come from a diversity of backgrounds, disciplines and experiences and will look for creativity across a broad array of academic programs and research departments. Examples of such programs include, but are not limited to, environmental science and conservation, oceanography, biology, engineering, physics, chemistry, materials science, neuroscience, public health and gerontology.
- Patient-care clarification:
- Q.
In the RFP, you highlight targeted areas for patient care but not the other programs. Can you say more about what you are looking for and what you are not looking for in the realm of patient care?
"A. With respect to patient care only, we focus this call on areas in which our foundation is currently engaged. We are interested in solutions in diagnostic excellence, medication safety in the community and community-based serious illness care. While we are open to ideas outside of these specific areas, we seek projects in patient care that directly improve the experience and outcomes of patients. We do not plan to make fellowship awards in ideas that focus on disease specific inventions, randomized control trials for drug efficacy or basic biomedical research."
- The guidelines indicate: "We expect each fellow will be personally engaged in pursuing their invention and we require each fellow to devote at least 25 percent of their own time to their invention. Fellows may use the grant funds to support their own salary to create this opportunity. They may also hire undergraduate, graduate assistants or postdoctoral scholars and purchase services, equipment, or supplies.
Evaluation criteria:
All applications will be evaluated with the following criteria:
Inventor
- Demonstrated creative and technical potential
- Strong relevant technical ability for the proposed line of work
Idea
- Importance of the invention in areas of interest to the Moore Foundation - science, environmental conservation, or patient care
- Invention at an early stage that requires this funding for rapid progress
- Plausibility of this invention to achieve the stated impact
- Ability of dedicated funding and time to propel this innovation to the next stage of development; commercialization is not a requirement
- Strength of the institution’s commitment to the applicant’s invention activities
All information on the details of the proposed invention will be held confidential and members of the advisory committee will sign nondisclosure agreements before reviewing any applicant material. The foundation will work with fellows on agreeable language that could be shared publicly about the competition and in announcements of the award winners.
UPDATE: The Date Sharing and Intellectual Property Policy
PDF File of the sponsor's data sharing and intellectual property policy:
https://www.moore.org/docs/default-source/Grantee-Resources/data-and-ip-policy-11-2014.pdf
The foundation’s policy states all intellectual property must be managed and disseminated in a manner that leads to the greatest impact. Each award will include IP terms to reflect the needs of each research project. The foundation may also publish anonymized and aggregated demographic information regarding the people nominated by the institutions, as well aggregated information on the university’s nomination process.
Further IP clarification from the sponsor: "The Foundation’s policy is that IP should be managed and disseminated in a way that leads to the greatest impact. Since IP can be important in making use of an invention, we will address it on a case-by-case basis once the projects have been selected."
INTERNAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR EACH SCHOOL:
By Thursday, January 11, 2018, 5 p.m., please submit ONE PDF file containing the following (in the order listed below) to your respective school contact person:
- School of Humanities and Sciences: Kristi Geerke geerke@stanford.edu
- School of Engineering: Rachel Sparks resparks@stanford.edu [NOTE: Bioengineering faculty-please submit your proposals to the School of Engineering)
- School of Medicine: Jeanne Heschele jheschele@stanford.edu
- School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences: Amy Balsom amy.balsom@stanford.edu
- Special note: only SLAC faculty with joint (not courtesy) appointments are eligible. They must submit their proposals to the school that pertains to their joint appointment (H&S, SES, SoM, or SoE)
File name: Last name_Moore_2018.pdf
Institutional representative: you do not have to submit your internal proposals to your institutional representative (RPM/RMG or OSR) for approval. You can submit them directly to your respective school's contact person.
The following is based on the sponsor's nomination guidelines.
1) Title Page
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation--The Moore Inventor Fellows
Project Title:
PI name, title (position), department, address, phone, email address
2) Nomination letter from the department chair (addressed to Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Moore Inventor Fellows review committee) which speaks to promise of the applicant and the ideas. This letter must address the above evaluation criteria.
This letter must also provide a commitment by the department* that it will meet the requirement in the guidelines “to make a contribution of $50,000 in annual direct support of the inventor’s work”. This letter should be no more than two pages.
- *Stanford clarification: per Dr. Ann Arvin, Vice Provost and Dean of Research Office, under the internal submission guidelines below, your Department Chair's nomination letter must provide a commitment by the department that it will meet the requirement “to make a contribution of $50,000 in annual direct support of the inventor’s work”)
- **CLARIFICATION from the Sponsor's FAQs >>: "Each host institution will be required to contribute $50,000 in annual direct support of the inventor’s work. This includes support for undergraduate or graduate students, equipment, supplies and other needs that will enable the fellows to focus on their inventions. Direct support in the form of salary is acceptable; however, the direct support requirement cannot be met without a proportionate release of time that the inventor spends on other duties (e.g., teaching)."
3) Statement of invention (2 pages) (based on the sponsor's guidelines)
Statement of invention (no more than two pages, including citations; single-spaced, 12-point font with one-inch margins).
The first paragraph should describe clearly and without jargon the invention, the problem it seeks to address and its potential impact. The statement of invention should also include the following information:
I. Description of invention
II. Importance to science, environmental conservation or patient care and experience
III. Stage of invention
IV. Current funding
V. Feasibility
VI. Approach for measuring progress during the grant term
4) Summary CV to include (no more than two pages) (per the sponsor's requirement)
I. Educational and professional background
II. Key accomplishments, honors and demonstrated areas of expert knowledge
III. Other background information relevant to this invention
5) FOR SCHOOL OF MEDICINE CLINICIAN EDUCATOR (CE) FACULTY ONLY:
Please submit a separate PDF file containing a copy of your approved CE faculty PI waiver packet
Selection Process
Each school will select 3 proposals to be forwarded to the Dean of Research Office limited program review committee (c/o Jeanne Heschele). That committee will select the two applicants to represent Stanford. The two nominees selected will need to obtain the two additional letters of support and will prepare the one page budget narrative needed for the nomination/application to be submitted to the sponsor by March 1st.
